Chapter 259 - 117: Don’t Mention It, Bro

Chapter 259: Chapter 117: Don’t Mention It, Bro

Early morning.

Zhang Shutong thought as he stared at the hospital room ceiling.

It was a little past eight p.m. now. Last time, around this same hour, he had ridden his bike home. Not long after, Gu Qiuyan had called and asked him to have dinner with her on Sunday.

He’d been exhausted back then, so he’d just grabbed a quick bite and gone to sleep.

And then came the news of her death.

Zhang Shutong had always felt a strange sense of dread about the early hours of Sunday morning.

By his count, there were still over four hours until the early morning.

He had four hours to rest, but life could be so dramatic sometimes. He used to be able to fall asleep easily, his mind at peace. Now, even though he was drowsy to the point of collapse, he didn’t dare shut his eyes. He worried that some accident would happen, and that he would miss it.

It was like that with Song, and it was the same with Gu Qiuyan.

Song was still in surgery and hadn’t come out yet. He didn’t know if he was out of danger. He probably was. He had one foot out of the grave, and Zhang Shutong believed he could make it the rest of the way.

Believing was all he could do. What other choice did he have? Just then, the young nurse finally walked over with a medical tray:

"Hold out your arm."

’Oh, right. I can still hold out my arm.’

Zhang Shutong obediently held out his arm.

"The vein in this arm is swollen. Give me the other one."

He watched the needle sink into his skin and heard the nurse say:

"Don’t go running around again this time. Be good and let the drip finish."

Zhang Shutong nodded, watching her walk away.

He watched the fluid drip, drop by drop, from the IV bag. His body still felt cold. With some foresight, Zhang Shutong had brought the down jacket up with him—the one he’d taken from the villa, which he had tossed in his car that morning.

He had said he would find time to return this down jacket to Gu Qiuyan, but he never managed to. Now, he had it draped over himself. It gave off a faint fragrance. Zhang Shutong wasn’t someone sensitive to smells, but he had grown familiar with this one. Wisps of the fragrance crept into his nostrils, as if its owner were right beside him.

But she wasn’t.

He was just in a hospital, on an IV drip. The ward was more bustling than his home. He watched the crowds of people coming and going, sneezing from time to time.

Zhang Shutong had Song to thank for it. He’d been about to leave the villa yesterday and just go, but Song had dug it out for him—though he had no idea how.

Time was moving so fast, and yet so slow. It felt like just a moment ago he was still in that villa. The peaceful morning, the snow a blanket on the ground, the living room spacious and warm.

Another sneeze.

’Sorry, sorry,’

Zhang Shutong apologized to Gu Qiuyan in his head. ’I got your jacket dirty, but I’m just so cold. I had to use it in a pinch.’

She probably didn’t even know he’d taken the down jacket, because she had already gone upstairs when he left.

He understood now that Gu Qiuyan didn’t really want him to worry about her. ’Fine, I’ll only give her good news, then,’ he thought, spacing out. ’But... is there any good news to give?’

’Doesn’t seem like it.’

At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to dwell on whether any of this was meaningful. True, there were people guarding the villa. True, he shouldn’t be so conceited. And true, Gu Qiuyan’s safety wasn’t his responsibility to worry about. But that inner voice was telling him again: ’Keep going, keep going, keep running.’

Of course he would keep going, but he wasn’t a real sheepdog, able to run energetically for a whole day.

He was really getting tired.

Zhang Shutong’s eyelids began to droop. He still couldn’t understand why Gu Qiuyan’s attitude had changed that day. She probably meant well, not wanting to see him run all over the place. But in reality, no matter what she did, as long as the early hours of Sunday hadn’t passed, he would keep doing what he was doing.

’So damn stubborn.’

Zhang Shutong silently tugged at the down jacket. It was ridiculously short. If he pulled it up to his neck, his waist was exposed. If he covered his waist, it only reached his collarbones. He didn’t have the brainpower to wonder about the killer’s identity anymore. All he knew was that they had to catch the person tonight. If they couldn’t... To be honest, if all these people still couldn’t stop what was coming, then Zhang Shutong had no idea what he would do.

It was like two voices were arguing in his head:

One said, ’There’s really nothing more you can do. It’s not your fault. You wanted to take her away, you tried to convince her so many times, but she was the one who wouldn’t leave.’

The other said, ’She’s safer in the villa than she would be with you. What a rational, calm decision. Who’s the one running around outside like a fucking idiot? Besides, she’s a rich young lady to begin with. Her previous behavior was the anomaly. Do you really think the world stops spinning without you?’

Gu Qiuyan was actually a smart girl.

This time, the two voices didn’t argue. They were in complete agreement.

And to think Zhang Shutong had once thought she was dumb.

He was the dumb one.

Or, in Song’s words, even a naive girl will one day become shrewd. And that change happens silently, always catching you off guard.

He felt the cold medicinal fluid flow into his veins bit by bit. Half his arm was going numb. His consciousness was sinking, and he was about to fall asleep without realizing it. He quickly shook his head.

It was still noisy. This was the hospital’s evening rush hour, and Zhang Shutong found he could no longer listen to the sound of a child crying with any sense of normalcy.

He wanted to tell the child, ’Hey, kid, can you please stop crying? It’s just one shot. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. I’m not trying to preach, but I used to be scared of shots, too. I thought the most terrifying thing in the world was my mom tricking me into a hospital visit, only to end up on a bed with a cold feeling on my butt... But I later discovered that there are things in life that are far, far more bitter.’ ℴ

That was it. He was reminded again of his life trapped in the loop. How similar it was—no, it was exactly the same. Each time, he was run ragged, trying to save a life. Each time, he was left a pathetic mess. Time and again, he thought he could break free of this damn thing, but in reality, he was still locked in battle with it.